South American Countries Research Articles

Fungal Diseases in Yerba Mate: Status and Management Strategies.

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil.), with its health benefits and socioeconomic significance, plays a crucial role in Argentina and other South American countries like Brazil and Paraguay. Its cultivation in the Province of Misiones (Argentina) supports various sectors, contributes to regional development, and provides employment opportunities. However, the transition from extractive practices to monoculture, accompanied with increased demand, has led to phytosanitary challenges. Imbalanced native microbiota, disease development, and pathogen dispersion have become prevalent issues. Understanding the known pathogens associated with yerba mate plants is crucial for developing effective agricultural strategies. The primary objective of this study is to synthesise current knowledge on prevalent fungal diseases in yerba mate cultivation, as well as to provide agricultural management recommendations for effective disease control. Fungal diseases can cause significant damage to different parts of the plant, resulting in economic losses. The proximity of neighbouring plantations to yerba mate crops may contribute to the cross-contamination of pathogens, emphasizing the need for comprehensive epidemiology and accurate diagnosis. Multiple fungal genera have been reported to cause pathologies in yerba mate. Among the fungi causing foliar diseases are Ceratobasidium niltonsouzanum, Cylindrocladium spathulatum, Pseudocercospora mate, Asterina sphaerelloides, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides aff var. yerbae, and Phyllosticta sp. Caulinary diseases are caused by Alternaria sp., Phoma sp., Colletotrichum sp., and Ceratocystis fimbriata. Regarding root rot, the genera Rhizoctonia sp., Pythium sp., Fusarium sp., and Rosellinia sp. have been reported. Proper crop management practices and monitoring are essential for effective disease control. To reduce reliance on chemical compounds, the use of biocontrol agents like Trichoderma sp. has shown promise in regulating phytopathogenic fungi populations. Continued research is vital to preserve the yerba mate industry and ensure its long-term viability while minimizing environmental impact.

Transnational student activism during the Latin American Cold War: the case of the Organización Continental Latinoamericana de Estudiantes (OCLAE) (1966–1980)*

ABSTRACT This article examines the case of the Organización Continental Latinoamericana de Estudiantes (OCLAE – Latin American Continental Students Organization), considering it an example of transnational student activism. It analyses the OCLAE’s ideological positions and actions during the Cold War, considering the shift in left-wing activism between 1960 and 1980 in the Americas. A clear anti-imperialist and revolutionary commitment during the long sixties in Third World countries seemed to dilute partially with the emergence of dictatorial right-wing regimes between the mid-seventies and the late eighties in South American countries. Since 1973, human rights activism in countries under dictatorial governments was presented by the OCLAE as another means of Latin American and internationalist – and even anti-imperialist – solidarity. Finally, this article proposes a transnational periodisation of student activism. In this regard, analysing the actions and positions of a Latin American organisation with links to local geographies allows us to think of cycles and substages without resorting to the sum of national cases.

Plasmodium vivax HAP2 genetic diversity and population structure from worldwide clinical samples. A potential Transmission-Blocking malaria vaccine candidate

BackgroundMalaria infections due to Plasmodium vivax are increasingly becoming a significant public health problem and are directly impacting malaria elimination efforts in many countries. Recent functional studies have shown that a pre-fertilising antigen; gamete membrane fusion protein HAP2/Generative Cell specific 1 (GCS1) domain significantly reduces the formation of P. vivax oocysts in mosquitos, implying that it could be developed as a transmission-blocking vaccine. MethodsIn this study, the genetic diversity, natural selection, haplotype network analysis and population structure of PvHAP2/GCS1 full-length gene using worldwide samples from 16 countries are determined and the implications for its use as a potential vaccine candidate against P. vivax are discussed. ResultsThe study revealed low levels of nucleotide diversity (π ∼ 0.003, SNPs = 95) and purifying selection for the full-length PvHAP2 gene indicating functional constraints. Among the 95 SNPs (65 synonymous and 30 non-synonymous), 15 non-synonymous substitutions were localised to the C-terminal domain of the protein (674a.a − 862a.a) majority of these non-synonymous substitutions were from two countries of Central Africa i.e. Cameroon and Gabon. Phylogeographic haplotype network analysis indicated that a major haplotype (Hap_2, n = 34) is shared among countries from Asian countries and South American countries. Population structure analysis using a robust Bayesian algorithm indicated the existence of two sub-populations of PvHAP2/GCS1 among the worldwide samples. ConclusionThis study suggests that, due to low genetic diversity across 15 countries, and shared haplotype identified, the HAP2 gene can be a good target for vaccine development as a transmission-blocking vaccine with the potential to provide strain-transcending immunity. The C-terminal region from two countries from Central Africa (Cameroon and Gabon) identified high number of non-synonymous substitutions, which may indicate new adaption of parasites from these countries. However, more detailed field based studies with a larger sample size from these countries are needed.

Achyrocline satureioides infusion, popularly prepared and consumed, has an in vitro protective effect on human neural cells exposed to rotenone

Ethnopharmacological relevanceTraditional harvest of Achyrocline satureioides (AS) occurs at dawn on Good Friday in some South American countries. Inflorescences are traditionally used as infusions for several disorders, including neuropsychiatric disorders. Pillows and cushions are popularly filled with AS to attenuate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. However, evidence for the potential beneficial effects of AS on human neural cells remains unclear. Aim of the studyAn in vitro model of SH-SY5Y human neural cells was applied to evaluate the effect of AS infusion, prepared as commonly used, on cells exposed to rotenone and to investigate its potential for neuropsychiatric disorders. Materials and methodsA hot aqueous extract was obtained from a traditionally prepared AS inflorescence infusion and chemically characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry and spectrophotometric quantification of total polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids. The SH-SY5Y cell cultures were treated with AS extract at concentrations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 300 μL/mL to determine the potential cyto- and genotoxic effects of AS on neural cells using MTT, Neutral Red, and GEMO assays. Apoptosis modulation was assessed using flow cytometry and apoptosis-modulating genes were evaluated by qRT-PCR. The protective effect of AS on the neurotoxicity triggered by rotenone exposure (30 nM) was determined by analyzing cellular viability and oxidative markers such as lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, and DNA damage was assessed by micronucleus assay. ResultsThe AS extract, as traditionally prepared, had estimated concentrations of 409.973 ± 31.107 μg/mL, 0.1041 ± 0.0246 mg GAE/mL, and 63.309 ± 3.178 mg QE/mL of total tannins, total polyphenols, and flavonoids, respectively. At concentrations of 30 and 100 μl/mL, AS decreased apoptotic events, whereas the highest concentration (300 μl/mL) increased apoptosis compared to that in the control (p < 0.05). In cells exposed to rotenone, AS treatment induced cell proliferation, reduced DNA damage (as evaluated by micronuclei), and reduced lipid and protein oxidation. ConclusionsThe data indicate the non-cytotoxic and beneficial effects of AS extract on human neural cells by reducing cellular mortality and oxidative stress in neural cells triggered by rotenone exposure.

Divergent future change in South Atlantic Ocean Dipole impacts on regional rainfall in CMIP6 models

The South Atlantic Ocean Dipole (SAOD) exerts strong influence on climate variability in parts of Africa and South America. Here we assess the ability of an ensemble of 35 state-of-the-art coupled global climate models to simulate the SAOD impacts on regional rainfall for the historical period (1950–2014), and their future projections (2015–2079). For both periods we consider the peak phase of the dipole in austral winter. Observational analysis reveals four regions with spatially coherent SAOD impacts on rainfall; Northern Amazon, Guinea Coast, Central Africa, and Southeast Brazil. The observed rainfall response to the SAOD over Northern Amazon (0.31 mm d−1), Guinea Coast (0.38 mm d−1), and Southeast Brazil (0.12 mm d−1) are significantly underestimated by the modeled ensemble-mean response of 0.10 ± 0.15 mm d−1, 0.05 ± 0.15 mm d−1, −0.01 ± 0.04 mm d−1, respectively. A too southerly rain belt in the ensemble, associated with warmer-than-observed Atlantic cold tongue, leads to better performance of models over Central Africa (46% simulate observations-consistent SAOD-rainfall correlations) and poor performance over the Guinea Coast (only 5.7% simulate observations-consistent SAOD-rainfall correlations). We also find divergent responses among the projections of ensemble members precluding a categorical statement on the future strength of the SAOD-rainfall relationship in a high-emissions scenario. Our results highlight key uncertainties that must be addressed to enhance the value of SAOD-rainfall projections for the affected African and South American countries.

Violence, Democracy and Criminal Justice in five South American countries (2014-2020)

Latin America is the most violent region in the world. Its average rate exceeds 20 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, while the global average rate is 6 per 100,000 and the epidemic limit is 10 per 100,000. No consolidated democracy has uncontrolled rates of homicidal violence, none of them have high impunity and a low rate of rule of law. Our task in this paper will be to relate violence, the level of democracy and criminal justice as a proxy indicator of the rule of law in five representative countries in Latin America. To this end, we use the following as indicators for measuring, classifying and correlating these concepts: democracy indices from The Economist's Democracy Index; UNODC homicide rates per hundred thousand inhabitants as a proxy for violence; and the factor eight criminal justice indices from the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index (2021). Our theoretical argument, or conjecture to be tested, was that the indicators of violence, democracy and criminal justice as a factor of the Rule of Law are associated. In other words, the signs of statistical correlations and crossing data sets from the 2014-2020 time series point to a higher level of democracy when there is a higher level of criminal justice and, in turn, lower levels of violence. Data analysis confirmed our theoretical conjecture and, in the five countries analyzed, violence tends to fall with the improvement of criminal justice indicators (Rule of Law) and reflects a better quality of democracy.

Successful control of Echinococcosis in Argentina and Chile through a One Health approach, including vaccination of the sheep intermediate host.

Cystic echinococcosis control in South American countries requires a comprehensive integrative ‘One Health’ approach. While insular nations have seen successful in their elimination programmes, South American countries face persistent challenges in hostile environments, with Echinococcus granulosus s.l., posing a significant public health concern. Vaccination of intermediate hosts has demonstrated the efficacy of the EG95 vaccine in reducing transmission rates. For example, since 2009, Rio Negro Province in Argentina has added, with marked success, the EG95 vaccine to the control programme, supplementing dog deworming. The Aysen Region of Chile has also reported encouraging preliminary results in reducing cyst prevalence in vaccinated sheep after 3 years of vaccination. The challenges in aligning control strategies with socio-cultural factors, especially in indigenous communities, underlines the need for context-specific strategies. The Rio Negro programme demonstrated commendable compliance, underlining the importance of community engagement in achieving lasting success. The most promising strategies for effective echinococcosis control involved dog deworming and the routine vaccination of sheep and/or goats, underscoring the importance of sustained implementation until all grazing animals have been replaced. For lasting success, these interventions need to be combined with a robust surveillance system.

Earth jurisprudence in South America: Trends and developments

This article aims to present an analysis of the evolution and contributions developed and integrated into the corpus of Earth Jurisprudence from practice in seven (7) South American countries where 135 records were found between 2005 and 2023. The case study was carried out using the methodological approach of the qualitative approach, the hermeneutic method, and the documentary review technique. The unit of analysis was based on the recognition of rights to nature, the data and information organized according to legal/political provisions, the state, the actor that initiated the action, and the ecological actor involved. Among the most outstanding findings, it is evident that a large number of records are concentrated in Ecuador and Colombia. The first correlates with the constitutionalization of the rights of nature and coincides with the second as they have been part of the stream known as new Latin American constitutionalism. In addition, a notable jurisprudential development recognizes nature as a subject of rights and declares it a victim of the armed conflict. Bolivia, which also joined this emerging denomination, has a different tendency than it had in its beginnings, not as the two countries mentioned above have done. Brazil stands out for its considerable increase in such legislative recognition. Argentina has a stronger emphasis on animal law. Peru has an incipient contribution to some regulatory implementation. Finally, Chile, the most laggard, tries it with a new constitution that recognizes these rights without having the approval at the ballot box. It is concluded the need to elevate the rights of nature and animals to constitutional status, claiming indigenous and ancestral cosmogonies regionally since it includes a legal stability that would facilitate the work of judicial and legislative actors and decision-makers for developing public policies, which would contribute to the practical development of the new Latin American constitutionalism and the Earth Jurisprudence.

Gastrointestinal helminths of opossums (Mammalia: Didelphidae) from Bolivia.

A total of 32 taxa of helminths were recovered from 52 individuals corresponding to 17 species of didelphiomorph marsupials collected across Bolivia. From these, 20 taxa are registered for the first time in this landlocked South American country, including the cestode Mathevotaenia bivittata, and the nematodes Moennigia sp., Travassostrongylus callis, Viannaia didelphis, V. hamata, V. metachirops, V. minispicula, V. philanderi, V. simplicispicula, V. skrjabini, V. viannai, Cruzia tentaculata, Monodelphoxyuris dollmeiri, Neohilgertia venusti, Pterygodermatites elegans, Pterygodermatites jeagerskioldi, Spirura guianensis, Gongylonemoides marsupialis, Turgida turgida and Trichuris reesali. We report for the first time parasites for Marmosops bishopi, Monodelphis emiliae, Monodeplhis glirina, Monodelphis sanctarosae, Monodelphis peruviana and Thylamys sponsorius and document 38 new records of parasites infecting marsupials. Twenty-six taxa of helminths infect 2 or more species of didelphiomorph marsupials, with the exception of Travassostrongylus callis, Viannaia didelphis, V. hamata, V. minispicula and V. hamate, which infected individuals of a single species.

Plurilingual Perspectives, Pluricultural Contexts

The present article is concerned with the multilingual news coverage from Agence-France Presse (AFP) about the South American country of Bolivia. Firstly, the theoretical and methodological approaches are outlined in order to characterise the plurality of contexts giving rise to AFP’s coverage of the Bolivian 2020 general elections. Secondly, an analysis is proposed that contrasts these multilingual versions in terms of framing devices and translation shifts, aiming at exploring the ways in which media stakeholders represent the Bolivian reality. Thirdly, the findings of this analysis are contextualised with reference to a cross-linguistic comparison of newspaper corpora. When comparing the Spanish, French, and English versions, the first two are found to be more aligned at the level of discourse patterns. The ultimate purpose of this case-study is to observe the presence of translation in plurilingual news settings, where the role of translators often goes unacknowledged within

Perkinsus spp. Occurrence in South America: A review

Marine mollusk production is increasing worldwide, and this trend is being evidenced in South American countries, where several species of bivalves are produced, exploited, and traded. This activity brings benefits either for the ecosystem, as it is a less impactful and polluting than other aquaculture practices, and to coastal human communities, as it provides food and income. However, emergence of outbreaks by pathogens is a major concern and can put an entire developing sector at risk. Perkinsosis is a disease caused by Perkinsus spp. protozoans that affect mollusks worldwide. In this review we provide information on Perkinsus spp. among bivalves from South America. Infections by these parasites were only reported to date among coastal Atlantic bivalves of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. The vast majority of cases and studies are reported from Brazil. We comprehensively review those results here. Finally, we suggest some considerations for future investigations that may expand our knowledge of these parasites.

CLIL Methodology as an Educational Approach to Support Productive Skills for EFL

The process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language needs improvement, and this study aims to address the effectiveness of CLIL in the educational context. The main objective is to gather relevant bibliographic information to verify whether the use of the CLIL methodology can have a positive impact on the productive skills of young learners of English as a foreign language. To achieve this, an in-depth examination of previous studies, general information, the advantages of the CLIL methodology, and its potential contribution to improving oral and writing communication skills is required. It is worth noting that there is a shortage of relevant literature and research on this particular topic in some South American countries, unlike other countries. Furthermore, the present research involved the collection and analysis of existing studies, which lends credibility to the findings. In particular, some aspects of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) have not been widely applied or known by teachers and students in South American educational institutions. As a result, there are many weaknesses in the implementation of the CLIL methodology that do not effectively contribute to students' improvement and acquisition of language learning. The most relevant conclusion shows that the CLIL methodology is applied and contributes to the improvement of the English language, but unfortunately, there is not much information from research work on the contribution of CLIL to the productive skills of the foreign language.

Lithuanian Diaspora in Uruguay During the Beginning of the Cold War

This article studies the problems behind the involvement of the Lithuanian diaspora of Uruguay in the political processes at the beginning of the Cold War (second half of the 1940s – early 1950s). The author considers the history of the formation of the Lithuanian diaspora in the South American country starting from the later period of the Russian Empire and its status in the interwar period in the context of the development of the Lithuanian statehood. Additionally, the article describes the emergence and solution of the problem of refugees and displaced persons after World War II in the international context. It is noted that the refugees and displaced persons were mostly representatives of the Soviet Union (including the Baltic states that became part of the USSR in 1940), Poland, Yugoslavia, and other countries of Eastern Europe. The study proves that in the new historical conditions, there was a change in the social composition of the Lithuanian emigration of Uruguay, which was replenished with political opponents of the Soviet regime, collaborators fleeing retribution, and “Westerners” (defectors). Formed as a result of a global conflict and a new system of international relations, this type of diasporas was called “communities of exiles”, “exiled communities”, or “political diasporas”. The politicised nature of such diasporas, which included post-war Lithuanian emigration to Uruguay, led to its participation in the information confrontation with the USSR in the framework of the Cold War that had begun. In this regard, the author examines the attitude of the Uruguayan authorities to the “emigration governments of the Baltic countries”, and, more particularly, the so-called “Lithuanian government” headed by Mykolas Krupavičius in the USA and his “mission” headed by Kazimiro Grauzhinis in Uruguay. The specifics of the situation with the problems of repatriation in the USSR, which is revealed using materials from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation and emigration periodicals, showed the reaction of the Soviet leadership to the position of Uruguay in relation to Soviet displaced persons (including within the new borders). The author concludes that in the context of intra-diaspora splits, immediately after the war, the nationalist-minded part of the Lithuanian emigration was an active participant of all anti-Soviet campaigns, using finances and all possible information resources for this (primarily, the United States). Hence, the unconditional orientation towards Washington of this part of the diasporas, including the Lithuanian one, which was called upon to sow anti-Russian sentiments and support the negative image of the USSR in the public opinion of the West, becomes obvious and logical.

Exploring Perceptions toward Emotional Intelligence in Chilean Construction Using a Qualitative Approach

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of construction experts in the Chilean construction industry regarding emotional intelligence. This exploratory and qualitative study is based on data collected through semi-structured interviews with construction professionals. The collected data were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis (QCA) technique to leverage how emotional intelligence (EI) is perceived by professionals in Chilean construction projects. A review, coding, and categorization were carried out within each transcribed interview, which allowed the elaboration of coding dictionaries and corresponding frequency tables to identify emerging topics. Our main results indicate that interviewees perceived EI as a tool to help them face the problems in Chilean construction projects. According to the interviewees, the benefits of implementing EI training are mainly the socio-emotional development and the transfer of critical skills to confront the challenges related to workers’ interactions. The main barriers are related to the work culture, lack of awareness of EI among construction workers, economic interests, and gender factors. The literature points to limited studies on understanding emotional intelligence in the construction sector, particularly in South America. This study contributes to responding to the need to explore and provide knowledge on emotional intelligence in the construction sector in the context of a South American country. This study contributes to exploring and understanding how EI is understood among workers in Chilean construction projects. In practicality, construction managers may use our findings to design training programs that leverage EI to improve the management of construction projects.

MLP Neural Networks in Sex Classification of a High Commercial Fish on the Artisanal Fisheries in Brazil

The scarcity of data on artisanal fishing, particularly in tropical South American countries, presents an additional hurdle for fisheries management and marine conservation. While artificial intelligence (AI) has found applications in various domains, including marine sciences, most AI models primarily focus on species identification. Unfortunately, these models often overlook data-limited scenarios. This article examines the potential of an MLPtype ANN model in addressing this gap. The model aims to classify the sex of a dioecious (separate sexes) fish species of high commercial importance, shedding light on its implications for fisheries management. Evaluation of the model's classification performance using precision, recall, f1-score, and accuracy reveals promising results exceeding 80% for both sexes across both training and testing phases. These findings underscore the potential of MLP models in aiding Brazil's fishing sector management in grappling with challenges stemming from data scarcity. By providing efficient information essential for decision-making regarding the management of specific fishing stocks, such models offer valuable insights into effective fisheries management strategies.

Insights from the Twittersphere: a cross-sectional study of public perceptions, usage patterns, and geographical differences of tweets discussing cocaine.

Cocaine abuse represents a major public health concern. The social perception of cocaine has been changing over the decades, a phenomenon closely tied to its patterns of use and abuse. Twitter is a valuable tool to understand the status of drug use and abuse globally. However, no specific studies discussing cocaine have been conducted on this platform. 111,508 English and Spanish tweets containing "cocaine" from 2018 to 2022 were analyzed. 550 were manually studied, and the largest subset underwent automated classification. Then, tweets related to cocaine were analyzed to examine their content, types of Twitter users, usage patterns, health effects, and personal experiences. Geolocation data was also considered to understand regional differences. A total of 71,844 classifiable tweets were obtained. Among these, 15.95% of users discussed the harm of cocaine consumption to health. Media outlets had the highest number of tweets (35.11%) and the most frequent theme was social/political denunciation (67.88%). Regarding the experience related to consumption, there are more tweets with a negative sentiment. The 9.03% of tweets explicitly mention frequent use of the drug. The continent with the highest number of tweets was America (55.44% of the total). The findings underscore the significance of cocaine as a current social and political issue, with a predominant focus on political and social denunciation in the majority of tweets. Notably, the study reveals a concentration of tweets from the United States and South American countries, reflecting the high prevalence of cocaine-related disorders and overdose cases in these regions. Alarmingly, the study highlights the trivialization of cocaine consumption on Twitter, accompanied by a misleading promotion of its health benefits, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted interventions and antidrug content on social media platforms. Finally, the unexpected advocacy for cocaine by healthcare professionals raises concerns about potential drug abuse within this demographic, warranting further investigation.

Evaluating sustainable efficiency: A study on transportation systems in South America using data envelopment analysis

The transport sector is pivotal in fostering economic growth and environmental sustainability. Extensive research has scrutinized various transportation modes individually, yet a holistic assessment encompassing all modes while considering CO2 emissions needs to be more conspicuously present. Our study employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the efficacy of transportation policies in South American nations in the context of United Nations-established sustainable development goals. Our overarching objective is to classify the sustainability status of South American countries' transport sectors and to establish benchmark models rooted in the six dimensions of sustainability. Methodologically, our analysis integrates operational transportation metrics, Gross Domestic Product per capita, Human Development Index, and CO2 emissions from transportation systems. Additionally, we draw comparative insights by juxtaposing South American countries against the G8 and BRICS nations. The rigorous application of DEA coupled with bootstrap validation fortifies the reliability of our findings. Our results bring to light these findings, positioning South American countries closer to their developed counterparts. Notably, the sustainable development models of Chile and Uruguay emerge as prominent exemplars. This study underscores the pressing demand for holistic and integrated development strategies to attain more sustainable outcomes across South American nations in a faster way. In conclusion, our research fills a conspicuous void in the extant literature by furnishing a comprehensive evaluation of transportation policy performance in South America. Based on a robust methodology, this empirical evidence offers valuable insights for policymakers striving to advance sustainable regional development.

Field study of parasitic contamination of fruits, vegetables and leafy greens in the Ecuadorian Andes

Background: Raw vegetables have been considered vehicles of enteroparasites. South American countries are among the most important exporters of fresh vegetables, including Ecuador, which has a tropical climate and soils rich in organic matter that allow it to harvest throughout the year for sale to different countries. The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of the parasitic contamination of fruits, vegetables and leafy greens grown in an agricultural area of the Ecuadorian Andes. Methods: A cross-sectional field study was conducted with snowball sampling on 1,416 samples (516 fruits, 488 vegetables, and 412 leafy greens). Each sample were washed with water, and the resulting solution after removing the vegetables, was subjected to 24-hour sedimentation. The concentrated sediment underwent microscopic analysis. Results: The overall positivity for parasitic contamination was 63.4%, with leafy greens having the highest contamination rate (76.9%) (P&lt;0.0001), surpassing vegetables (67.8%) and fruits (48.4%). Cabbage (100%), onions (84%), and strawberries (60.2%) emerged as the most contaminated within their respective groups. Protozoa were more prevalent (49.6%) than helminths (15.5%) (P&lt;0.0001). Blastocystis sp. (33.5%) ranked highest, followed by Eimeria spp. (26.3%), Entamoeba spp. (10.3%), Giardia spp. (8.3%), Balantidium spp. (6.9%), Cryptosporidium spp. (6.6%), Cyclospora spp. (4.4%), Cystoisospora spp. (0.5%), Strongylida (15.5%), and Ascaris spp. (0.4%). Conclusion: The study reveals that vegetables and fruits for human consumption from this area of the Ecuadorian Andes are highly contaminated with various parasites, constituting a possible source of infection for humans and animals in this area, or in non-endemic areas where these products are marketed. The finding emphasizes the need for strict hygienic measures in agricultural crops, which will be properly achieved through the treatment of soil, manure and water used for cultivation.

Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia spp. Molecular and Serological Evidence among Colombian Vectors and Animal Hosts: A Historical Review.

Spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. (SFGR) are a large group of tick-borne bacteria causing important emerging and re-emerging diseases that affect animals and humans. While SFGR are found worldwide, a lack of surveillance and misdiagnosis particularly affect South American countries. Colombia is a high burdened country in South America, yet rickettsioses are not deemed a nationally reportable condition limiting disease-specific public health resources. As mortality rates are high for one Rickettsia pathogen species, there is a great need to better understand the epidemiological and ecological factors that increase SFGR transmission risk regionally. This literature review provides an overview of Colombia-based SFGR studies connecting knowledge about both vectors and hosts.

The fourth industrial revolution in South America: a bibliometric study with data mining tools

The fourth industrial revolution has boosted theory and technology up to the point of replicating human intelligence. Humankind generates enormous amounts of data that need to be stored, systematized, and applied to solve problems that improve daily life. This industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, meets said need through practical applications in numerous fields such as medicine, commerce, robotics, transportation, tourism, and others. This study used the methodology of bibliometric analysis by using the Scopus database, aiming to evaluate the use of Industry 4.0 in South American countries in the last decade and its contribution to physics through the application of data mining tools. RStudio’s Biblioshiny software and VOSviewer were used to categorize and evaluate the contributions of some authors and countries. As a result, the use of remote sensing and machine learning technologies was found to be the most relevant. This bibliometric study provides a recent vision of Industry 4.0 to encourage its use for future research in South American countries.